Fangs of the Forgotten
by Darkfire Galaxy
Summary: Set in the year 1810. A young wild Wolfblood who was forced to run to Stoneybridge takes up the task of avenging her pack. But will her taking vengeance lead to even greater discoveries?
1. Chapter 1

Wolfblood

Fangs of the Forgotten

Chapter 1

Night had fallen over the camp. The cubs were down for the night as were most of the adults. The alpha was just retiring too, leaving the betas to douse the campfire. They did so from a safe distance, pouring water into the centre of the flames causing plumes of steam to billow through the tree canopy. They knew it would serve as a beacon to any who sought them, but knew that with their watchers in the trees they would have sufficient warning should any humans cross their borders.

It was as the first of the betas ducked through the door to the animal skin shelter that a noise caused them to look over. A dark shape had fallen from the tree and landed at an impossible angle. They glanced at each other, concern passing between them unspoken, and ran over just as another shape dropped from a separate tree. As they reached the first one, a third also hit the floor. Too late, they realised it was one of their watchers. An arrow stuck up from his side, jutting out at and angle having pierced his heart.

"Everybody up!" one of the betas roared. "We're under attack!" His yell came just as the final watcher dropped from his tree and a blazing orange light arced through the woods. The flaming arrow struck the tent that the younger cubs were kept in, igniting it instantly. Wolfbloods were already on their feet and emerging from their tents, their eyes blazing as yellow as the flames slowly consuming the animal skin shelter amidst the terrified screams of the cubs. Females were already ducking inside and passing the children out, the healers running over to tend to any touched by the flames.

"Who would dare attack us?" The alpha had emerged and was looking furious, animal hide armour hastily shrugged on and improperly fastened. His spear was clenched in a white-knuckled grip. "The humans know better than to come out here!"

"No human could have snuck up on our watchers." The other beta was preparing herself for a fight as she grabbed a dagger off a fallen watcher having no time to retrieve her own weapon. "It must be tames!"

"They wouldn't dare!" The Wolfbloods went back-to-back, wondering why there was no sign of the enemy yet. Around him, he could only see his own pack desperately trying to put out the flames and save their cubs. Suddenly, he saw it. Yellow eyes were igniting along the tree line. Wolves broke cover with no warning and charged, cutting down members of the pack with their fangs before many of them could even register what was happening.

The alpha charged forward with a yell of fury, only to have his weapon ripped from his grasp with an invisible hand. It flew across the now gore-slicked battlefield before being caught by another Wolfblood, the face of whom was invisible beneath the hood of his cloak. He advanced on the alpha at a casual walk, as though strolling lazily through a field of grain, but spinning the newly-acquired spear menacingly in a flurry of motion too fast for any human to possibly achieve. As if on cue, his eyes ignited a primal gold as the alpha drew his secondary weapon, a sword taken as tribute from a human that had stumbled upon their camp in exchange for his life. Their blades met in a shower of sparks, however the alpha knew he was at a disadvantage. He hadn't practised as thoroughly with the sword, and so the balance differed from his muscle memory with the spear. The attacker on the other hand was right at home, moving as though he'd been doing it his whole life.

As the fight dragged on, the alpha began to visibly tire. He knew his pack was dying all around him and that he had to end it quickly, but the weight of the sword seemed to increase with each strike and rendered it impossible. In a last ditch effort, he decided to go on an all-out charge with a final lateral cut to try to decapitate his foe. The spear's shaft would prove no defence against the weight of his blade. Before he could complete the strike, however, the other Wolfblood thrust his arm out. The same invisible force that claimed the alpha's spear threw him back to smash through one of the tents. A strike from another weapon narrowly skimmed over his head to strike another of his pack as he landed on his stomach, his shirt lifting up at the bottom and the rough dirt scraping at his skin. He recognised the Wolfblood as one of his Betas, who dropped without a sound.

Furiously, he brought the sword up. It speared the murderous Wolfblood clean through. They hit the ground as the alpha scooped up the fallen weapon. It was smaller than what he was used to but weighed considerably less. He turned just as the Wolfblood that had first engaged him stormed across the battlefield, black cloak fluttering out behind him. Again, the spear was spinning in a blindingly fast wall of defence to leave no opening for any front-on strike. The alpha tried to stand up straight, but he was winded and breathing was an effort. The exchange was brief, but though the alpha fought valiantly, there was only ever going to be one winner. The other Wolfblood bated the tired alpha with a false opening before ramming the spear into his sternum so forcefully that the tip touched his spine and the shaft splintered. He snapped off the shaft and tossed it away as the alpha sank to his knees.

"For the longest time you thought yourself safe." The alpha looked up as the stranger pulled down his hood to reveal a familiar face. "The legend of the Kahn dynasty kept Wolfbloods safe from humans. But you were betrayed. Now, the wild world you treasure so much will fall."

"Fayveer..." The alpha barely managed to say the name before the light left his eyes. His body went limp as he fell forward. Fayveer stepped back and let him hit the ground unceremoniously, turning away from the battle at the sound of running feet. A young female no older than twelve had made a break for it and was sprinting away from the fight. One of the attacking Wolfbloods was sprinting after her in wolf form. She stumbled and the wolf was on her in an instant, his snapping maw of sharp fangs inches from her face. She swung her elbow, timing it right to the crunch of one of the Wolfblood's fangs breaking. She used that split second to bring her kneecap up and connect with the wolf's chin before swinging her other foot out to kick it the side of the muzzle. The wolf staggered back disoriented, allowing her to slide out from under it and start running again. It went to give chase, but Fayveer had crossed the battlefield in that time, lazily batting aside any who were left in his way and held the wolf back. It glared up furiously at him as it returned to human form.

"What are you doing? She'll get away!"

"I'm impressed by her." Fayveer replied. "She's the only one here who's put up a decent fight so far. She's earned the right to live." The other Wolfblood backed down. He knew Fayveer was not an easy alpha to impress. If she was to be left alone, then she was to be left alone. For now. Subconsciously, he ran his tongue over where one of his canines was now missing and vowed that should their paths ever cross again, the girl would suffer for such an outrage.

The girl ran blindly through the woods, her throat and lungs raw and her feet wounded and blistered. She'd known she was safe a while back, but still she kept on running. She ran until she arrived at a house, collapsing in the back garden. One of the last things she saw as she passed out was a Wolfblood hurrying out to her side. She let the darkness overtake her, unsure if she'd ever wake again.

**Author's Note: Okay, so I know I promised my next multi-chapter story would be Hunters of the Dusk, but unfortunately I had a few problems with life getting on top of me and I started doubting what I was doing with it, so I've paused it until I feel more able to work on it again. In the meantime, I had the idea for this in my head and decided to write it up. My Halloween Wolfblood story will be coming soon too. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Four Years Later...

The young Wolfblood swung her feet out of bed, her back screaming in protest. The errands from the previous day as well as her training had left her aching all over, but she knew she had to get up sooner or later. She trudged downstairs to see the Wolfblood that had taken her in some time ago making breakfast.

"I didn't expect you up so soon!" he said, moving over and putting a plate of bacon sandwiches in front of her. She set to work devouring them hungrily. As soon as meat was placed in front of her, she instantly reverted back to her wild nature. It was fine in the house provided she controlled herself when humans were over or they were out.

"Can I go back to sleep then?" she asked hopefully in between mouthfuls.

"No, I have need of you today." The Wolfblood moved over to the counter top and grabbed a basket. "Grata is out of food, so I need you to go and buy as much as you can with this." He placed the basket next to her as well as a pouch of coins. "When you've taken it to her, come straight back. I have a bit of a surprise for you."

"What might that be?" She wondered, finishing the food and sighing contentedly.

"I'll tell you what it is." He walked over and sat down next to her, chewing on a chicken bone with a few scraps left on it from the previous night. "It's a surprise that won't be a surprise if I tell you what it is." She rolled her eyes. He was full of mind games like that.

"Fine, I'll get it done." She snatched up the basket and went to the door, stopping short at the voice of the alpha.

"Be careful how you talk to me, Serena." He warned her. "Don't forget who took you in."

"Sorry, Willem." She knew Willem preferred his Wolfblood name in the house, but she insisted he use the name the humans knew her by. She'd cast her true name aside until she avenged her pack. The memories of that day were painful, but she shrugged them off, touching the wolf fang in her pocket. She left the house, breaking into a run as she headed towards the town. Even in a small town like Stoneybridge, it seemed a million chimneys were belching out smoke, blackening the sky. Every time she saw it, she wanted to go back to the wild. But it was worth it to stay under the radar. She had a job to do. She would do well to complete it quickly.

Just off the main road from the town, she had to stop. The scar on the underside of her foot was howling with pain, waves of agony shooting into her brain. Ever since she'd fled four years ago, too young to fight and with no idea how to, the wound she'd sustained on her foot had crippled her. The last thing any wolf wanted was to be injured, and especially not permanently. She knew she'd have to find other ways to adapt that didn't involve running or else she'd make the damage worse. The doctor she'd been taken to had said something about tendons. She'd been in too much pain to remember exactly what. He'd also said something about three pounds, thirty-two shillings and thruppence, which was when Willem had picked her up and carried her out. He'd been very quick about it, too. She'd only been given eight shillings for meat, so she'd have plenty provided she used it wisely. Unfortunately, it would now take her longer than she'd hoped with her foot playing up.

Eventually, she was able to limp over to the butcher's shop. He was another Wolfblood with a bad sense of humour and a serious grudge against her. A few days after she'd arrived and before she'd learned the customs of human civilisation, she'd felt hungry and so taken a slab of beef from off the hook and started eating it. At the time, she hadn't even known what money was, let alone had any. Willem had paid before dragging her away. She got the feeling he'd never forgiven her, but she hoped he'd at least see she was in pain and lay off the usual attitude. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

"Ah, the wild one has arrived." He turned back to his racks of meat and started browsing through them. "What'll it be today? We've got some fresh herb and garlic sausages at a shilling for five, or we've got some beef assuming you can pay for it this time. I know you like beef."

"Jacob, this is why I don't come here much." Serena sighed as she leaned against the counter, hoping her foot would stop hurting soon so that she could at least walk in a straight line. "I'm looking for something for Grata. Apparently she's out of food. What do you have for an old Wolfblood with barely any fangs left?" She dumped the money on the counter to show she could actually pay rather than have Jacob start up again.

"Ah, it's for her is it?" Jacob grinned, a rare enough occurrence in itself, and grabbed a box from behind the counter. "I wondered when she would need more, so I put together a care package. She gets a senior's discount. Six shillings for the lot." Serena counted out the money and handed it over. She took the box and held it under the other arm as Jacob wrapped two sausages up and put them in her basket.

"What are they for?" she asked, confused.

"They're on the house. Happy birthday." A grin broke out over Serena's face. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten her own birthday!

"Thanks so much." She would have hugged Jacob if her arms hadn't been so full.

"It's nothing." Instantly the grin was gone and Jacob was all business. "Now get going. Grata won't feed herself." Serena nodded and headed off. She was feeling stronger again but deliberately forced down the urge to run. The last thing she needed was to go hurting herself again. If there was ever a chance of gaining any modicum of recovery, it was resting her foot as much as possible. Luckily, the walk to Grata's house a short one. She was in her nineties and deaf as a post, so there was no chance that she'd hear the door knocker. Luckily, she always left the window open. Serena unwrapped one of the parcels, an especially lean cut of pork, and held it to the window. Grata's sense of smell was probably the only thing she had left that worked. In an instant, she was up and feeling her way towards the door. It flew open as she peered through her glasses to try and work out who was there. She sniffed the air, trying to pick up Serena's scent.

"Sally?"

"Serena." It wasn't the first time she'd had to correct Grata on it, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. "I have food for you."

"Yes, I can tell. How much do I owe him?"

"It's fine." Serena shrugged as Grata stood aside to allow her in, pointing with a shaky finger to the table. She set the box down while Grata picked something up off the arm of her rocking chair.

"Nonsense. I'm not letting him go without something." Grata pressed something into Serena's hands. "Take this to him, dear." Serena opened her hands to see some gold buttons resting in her palms. She sighed and thanked the older Wolfblood before making a swift exit and heading home. It was a short but beautiful walk up the country lane and she was looking forward to the full moon in a couple of days.

"How did you get on?" Willem asked as she walked in. She took the sausages out of her basket to show to him.

"These are from Jacob as it's my birthday." She set them down on the table as Willem stood aside.

"It certainly is. I made bread pudding as a special treat and you can have those for supper." She nodded as he picked them up and put them in the meat store while she tucked in. She'd always loved Willem's bread pudding, and so it was always a special treat for her birthday. But this year it seemed he had one other surprise in store.

"What's going on?" Serena asked as he sat down next to her.

"I want to talk to you seriously." Willem rested a wrapped package on his lap and fixed his gaze straight on her.

"Look, it's okay. I didn't take Grata's money. She insisted but stuffed some gold buttons in my hand." She pulled them from her jacket pocket and put them on the table. "Her eyesight's totally gone."

"I'll sneak them back next time I'm round there." Willem nodded. "That's not what I wanted to talk about. As you know, I've been testing your abilities in Eolas and Ansion in the years since you've been here. With Wolfbloods, each of us has a talent. But with wild Wolfbloods, you all have an area with your powers that you specialise in. It's the reason that some go on to become pack watchers, others become healers and some can even go on to overthrow current alphas and take their pack and lineage as their own. I think you have the potential to become something quite rare indeed."

"What does that mean?" Serena looked at the parcel with a rising degree of interest. Whatever it was, Willem was gripping it tightly.

"What do you know about the rites?" he asked.

"What like rites of passage?" Serena tilted her head to one side as she thought. "I know there's at least a couple to mark your ascent into adulthood. Still, the wild Wolfbloods hate the city dwellers now, ever since..." She shook her head, furiously trying to suppress the memory. The wolf fang in her pocket seemed to dig into the side of her leg at precisely the wrong moment.

"I know." Willem's eyes flicked downwards. "It was barbaric what happened that day. I understand not even the cubs were allowed to live. Anyway, there are a select few Wolfbloods out there who have a level of power beyond Eolas and Ansion. I believe you may be one of them. No one knows for sure what it is. The form it takes differs between each Wolfblood who can use it. I believe one of them was actually present on the day your camp fell."

"The alpha called him Fayveer." Serena nodded. "He snatched the alpha's spear from his hands without even being anywhere near him."

"Do you know what his human name is?" Willem asked. Serena just shook her head.

"It just happened so fast back then. I could barely even see him through the flames. The smoke drowned out his scent. Even if I saw him now, I probably wouldn't know him. Not that I could do much with my foot like this."

"Unfortunately, I can't pay that much for a doctor to repair the damage, if one even can." Willem shrugged. "Anyway, as I was saying earlier: the rites of passage are when you would essentially choose your path. The pack healer would perform the tests on you that you've been put through over the last few years. I think you have the potential to take a path almost never seen."

"You know a lot about our culture." Serena stated curiously.

"My parents always admired it." Willem replied. "Did your pack ever tell you the story of when the gods resided on Earth?"

"They were going to." Serena's voice took on a harder note. "They never got chance."

"I see." Willem sat back, the parcel resting securely on his lap. "It was supposed to have started before recorded history. For reasons unknown, one woman defied the gods and rallied an army against them. She painted a picture of when they would no longer have to watch their loved ones whither and die. All they had to do was kill the gods. The army failed. They used the powers they had, powers similar to Fayveer's own gift. The gods were angry that their own gift to humanity had been used against them, and so wiped them from the face of the planet. The woman herself was the only one left and spent her life in isolation. After she died, they re-seeded humanity, but learning of their ambition to defeat any growth-limiting factor put in their way the gods also created the Wolfbloods. As this species was deemed worthy, the gods selected a few among them to share a fragment of their powers, but much less than before. It's a ridiculous story, but if there's ever one thing about it that's true then this is it." He gestured to the package on his knees and Serena's glance was drawn to it again. To her intense surprise, he picked it up and slid it over to her. She tore the paper off to reveal a leather-bound book.

"So, I take it this is a book on the power you think I have?" she guessed, looking up at him.

"It's from the library in the cellar." Willem nodded. "The power itself has many forms and many names, not least because the humans don't know about it much less what it is. Even Wolfbloods don't know that so humans stand no chance. But the most common thing humans know it as is sorcery." Serena was so surprised she swallowed her breath.

"Wait, so those books on the Arthurian legends and sorcerers..."

"That's just a work of fiction." Willem shrugged. "Dragons don't exist, I assure you. But that _is_ the point. The humans instantly assume it's to do with magic because they don't understand it. Your share of this power may manifest in any way imaginable. When it does, you can use it or not. It's up to you. But I _do_ want you to at least understand it. That's what that book is for. It documents most of the manifestations we've seen of the unknown power. It should help."

"Thank you." Serena took the book gratefully. "I'll start reading tonight. If it could solve the mystery of the dream I had when I came here, it would be the full package."

"I'm sure you'll find the answer to that one in time." Willem assured her. "Now, go upstairs and clean up. The rest of today is your own." Serena nodded and headed upstairs. There she collapsed onto her bed and opened the book, turning to the first page and beginning to read.

**Author's Note: I'm going to look at uploading once a week as I usually do with multi-chapter stories. This one is shorter than most of my multi-chapter work for Wolfblood at only eight chapters in total. Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think. As a bit of fun, if anyone correctly guesses Serena's true name then I'll give them a shout-out and I'll double-update next time I post a chapter. Also, regarding feedback left by Always A Dragon, the sentence you alerted me to was actually two different parts of the same sentence with a piece missing because it didn't copy over properly. Thank you for alerting me. I have since fixed that issue. **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"_Do you hear me, Wolfblood? Can you see me?" The voice seemed to reverberate around Serena's skull. It was as though she was trapped like a puppet on a string. She was going through the motions of the dream as though it were the first time all over again like a book she'd had read to her countless times; a story that never got old._

"_Who are you?" _

"_I am what remains of the being once known as Assiel." The figure emerged, stepping towards her in a striking blue light. It appeared feminine, as did the voice, although the light always made it impossible to tell for sure._

"_Are you one of the gods?" Serena asked. Assiel merely scoffed._

"_Even when I lived, the humans failed to comprehend. Now, the Wolfbloods do too. Perhaps we'll never be understood. I come baring a message, however I also come baring a burden. This message is not for you, but it is for you to pass on. Do not speak, only listen: there are many stories of those who came before, of their rise and their fall. When the time comes, you will bare the truth to one who can see across time. Nothing remains of the old times. Those of the future will be blind. You are to ensure that they know what they need when they need to know. Over the eons, civilizations have grown and risen to what they believed was power. Then at the apex of their glory, they were extinguished. Power is a corruptive illusion that humanity and the Wolfbloods alike thirst for like poisoned wine. Should the message fail to reach its destination and the events of the past are repeated, then mankind shall be deemed irredeemable. The Earth will be restored to the barren rock it was after the incineration of humanity the first time, and this time there will be no re-seeding. Friogearde will leave it as it should have stayed the first time."_

"_How am I supposed to pass the message down?" Serena asked. She knew what was coming. Assiel was about to say the name of the person who was to receive the message, but it was always inaudible. It had been that way ever since she'd first had the dream the night her camp burned._

"_It has already been delivered." Assiel stepped back, the glow of the light starting to fade. "We can do no more. The rest is up to you, Jana." Serena couldn't hide a look of surprise. Assiel had never said the name before. But it wasn't one Serena was familiar with._

"_What? Who is Jana?" she asked as Assiel continued to fade from view. "Please, wait! I have so many questions!"_

Serena's eyes snapped open, shining yellow like beacons in the darkness. She got up and reached for the lantern on her dresser before heading back over to her bed. She sat down and let out a shaky breath, trying to collect her thoughts as there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." Her voice sounded heavy to her own ears. Her door opened and Willem's head emerged from the gloomy hallway.

"I heard you moving around. You haven't done that in a while. Want to talk about it?" Serena moved over to allow him space to sit down.

"The dream is complete." She looked up at him to gauge his reaction. He gazed at her with curiosity, motioning for her to continue. "There was a figure calling themselves Assiel. They spoke of a message I was to deliver to a Wolfblood named Jana. Apparently whoever that is, they have the power to see the past but are blind to events from Assiel's time. I need to act as the bridge."

"Fascinating." Willem muttered, taking it all in. "I can't imagine anything like it. I hesitate to ask, but what about Fayveer?"

"He's still a priority. The burden of revenge still falls to me. If any remain of my pack, I still haven't found them. I've been back there countless times since but no one ever returned there. I don't see why they would either. Fayveer tarnished our pack's legacy. We never got chance to leave our Beyanath on the territory. Any survivors would do as I want to try to. They'd keep moving forward."

"They would." Willem nodded as he reached over and gently patted Serena on the back. "Look, I know you're wild at heart and you have your traditions to follow. I won't stop you. If revenge is a birthright, then you have to claim it to honour your pack. But once you've done that, just know that you don't have to leave immediately afterwards. There are very few wild healers that can sort out that injury of yours. If you need to stay here and be healed by human medicine then you're more than welcome. And you'll have a refuge for as long as you need. If you want to stay here from now on, that's also fine. Truth be told, ever since my wife died, I've missed the company."

"I'll think about that when the time comes." Serena nodded. "Thank you, though. That's a load off my mind."

"Of course, there's another option too." Willem shrugged. Serena looked up at him inquisitively. "With her gone, we never had anyone to leave this house to. Our Wolfblood lineage is here. It's been in my family for so long that the gods themselves probably don't remember us moving in. I have no heir, but you still have time. You have youth and resourcefulness. If you choose to stay full time and choose to accept it, I can leave this land and all its resources to you. What happens after that will be up to you. You don't have to decide anything now. It's another option so you don't feel your back is against the wall."

"You would do that?" Serena looked up at him in amazement, hot tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

"Hey, you're not getting anything yet!" Willem gave her a playful nudge. "I don't plan on dying for a very long time."

"Neither did any of my pack." Serena sighed, finding no comfort in his words. Willem also sighed and stood up, knowing he'd said the wrong thing.

"Tomorrow I will have no need of you. You can spend the day as you wish. My advice would be to walk about the town to exercise that foot and maybe discover anything you can about Fayveer. Wolfbloods aren't exactly uncommon here and most of the humans know of us anyway, so no one should get suspicious about your enquiries. If one of the people you ask should be working for him and take word back, so much the better."

"You think there's a chance?" Serena asked, lying back on her bed and grabbing the book by her nightstand. Willem recognised in that moment how far she'd come. Beforehand, she would never have left herself in such a vulnerable position and yet here she was entirely trusting him and the security of her room. It was a sight that pleased him to see.

"I think that domestic Wolfbloods have hated the wild ones for centuries after the great divide that ended the Khan dynasty of the Carmad Mongol pack." Willem said. "I think that the hatred was mutual and concealed. But the wild ones have a nasty habit of demanding tribute from any humans who find them in exchange for letting them live. I'll bet your alpha was no different."

"You've got me there." Serena grinned. "There was this one human who was bragging to his friends how brave he was before we jumped them both. He screamed and literally started throwing his own clothes off to offer them to us. It was hilarious!" She started to laugh at the memory before seeing the look on Willem's face. "Well, I suppose you'd probably have to have been there. Co'ten, our alpha, got his sword from a human who was heading to a nearby town to give it as a gift. It was a threatening weapon and a powerful status symbol, but it was also what got him killed."

"I know Wolfbloods don't use guns, and those that live in the wild are even stricter about using weapons at all." Willem mused. "I'm surprised he took that sword since it was made by a human. The fact he took tributes from them like that at all is disgusting. It's another reason I've always said we shouldn't broadcast ourselves so openly. There'll be repercussions one day. Still, it's good to see you're studying that book I gave you. If you need to access the books in the cellar for reference then feel free. I'm heading back to bed."

"I'll see you in the morning." Serena watched him shut the door behind him before returning to her book, her emerald green eyes darting over each page, absorbing information systematically. It was fascinating reading. Wolfbloods over the course of history had been observed performing all kinds of feats that set them apart. Things that weren't explainable by known natural means. If even half of it was true then the Wolfblood species was far more diverse than she'd ever believed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day saw Serena up early. She had a lot of enquiries to make around the town and she was eager to get started. The quicker she started, the quicker she'd get finished. She had a solid idea of where to start, too: with the only other Wolfblood in the village who knew where she came from.

She arrived at the butcher shop only to find the door locked. It was odd. The clocks were saying it was half-past nine and he always opened at eight. He was always bragging that the clock was never wrong, too. As she leaned back against the wall to consider what to do, something else caught her attention. The shop across the road was also closed. That was weird. The bakery was _definitely_ supposed to be open. The old owner had apparently once attempted to keep serving customers even when he was deep into a heart attack and had died the following day. His daughter had taken over and Serena had met her multiple times. She'd even come to work on a day when she was deep into a full-blown case of flu and carried on as if nothing was wrong. She definitely wasn't the kind of Wolfblood who'd just take a day off.

As Serena thought about that, something more occurred to her. Looking down the street, she noticed only certain shops were closed. The butchers, the bakery, the bookshop and the clothes shop were all closed at just a cursory glance. Places like the shoe shop and toy shop were all open. Only the shops run by Wolfbloods were shut. Looking around, she noticed a police officer walking around and so flagged him down. The police wouldn't be affected since the officers were all given service pistols and Wolfbloods had very strict customs forbidding them from using any firearms.

"Excuse me, I noticed a few of the shops are shut today. I'm especially concerned about two of the shopkeepers. They never miss a day."

"Ah, you're one of those wolf people, aren't you?" The policeman looked her up and down.

"I'm a Wolfblood, yes." Serena nodded.

"Well, I'm surprised you've not heard then." The policeman adjusted his helmet. "A Wolfblood asked the priest if he could use the church hall on Fridays. It's been happening a couple of weeks now. They're opening slightly later because the shopkeepers are all in a meeting. You're all welcome apparently. Why not go and have a look?"

"I might just do that." Serena nodded. "Thank you." She set off in the direction of the church. It was hard to miss as she already had line of sight and a clear path to it. The urge to run was tearing at her, but she fought against it, not wanting any more trouble with her foot. When she arrived, she could hear gentle singing drifting through the doors.

"_-that saved a wretch like me_..." Serena pushed the door open and the voices became almost overwhelming. "_I once was lost, but now I'm found_." The Wolfblood at the front was standing rigidly to attention with his eyes shut. "_Was blind, but now I see_." The Wolfblood opened his eyes which blazed yellow in the half-light. The lights in the church were off with only candles ignited, casting an incredibly foreboding atmosphere. All at once, dozens of pairs of yellow eyes locked onto her as the audience turned in their seats.

"Ah, I see we have a new arrival." The Wolfblood descended the steps and walked down the isle to approach Serena. "Tell me, my dear, where have you been the last couple of weeks? I thought I sent an invitation to every Wolfblood in the village."

"We didn't get one." Serena replied. "I just found out about it from a police officer."

"Oh dear, even the humans found out before you did!" he sighed dramatically to the sound of laughter. "Since you said 'we', I assume you don't live alone." He snapped his fingers and a Wolfblood standing in the corner walked over, passing her a leaflet.

"Thank you." She nodded gratefully to him. He smiled in response, the kind of smile that caught her eye.

"Grab a seat, young lady! Grab a seat!" The Wolfblood leading the event gestured to an empty seat on one of the pews. Serena took it, knowing she couldn't back out now. Besides, she might learn something important. "Now, I believe we've sung loud enough to convince that deaf old human priest that we're singing out our customary hymn that's the payment for borrowing this hall for an hour. As always, he gets the choice on which one we sing each week, so I'll be sure to let you all know in advance. Still, he's not charging us money so it's all fine." With that, he turned his attention to Serena. "I don't believe we've been introduced before this, child. What is your name?"

"I'm Serena. I live just on the edge of town." Serena replied.

"No, I mean your _true_ name." The other Wolfblood elaborated. "To everyone outside of here, I am Franklin. I coach the local track event teams here, since I can't compete myself. If I can get humans running anywhere close to my sort of speed, then we'll win gold for sure. But I'm asking for your true name. You know Jar'Kai the butcher and Halaan the bookshop owner. The one at the back is Corran, a lifelong friend and ally of mine. He's the one who handed you the leaflet. So what is your name?"

"I no longer use my true name." Serena confessed. "I grew up wild. My territory was attacked. I was the sole survivor. I've set it aside until I find and punish whoever was responsible."

"I see." Franklin nodded. "Well, I can safely say I don't know anything about it, but if anyone does I'm sure they'll be happy to help. I myself have lost much to the wild Wolfbloods, but I wouldn't wish something like that on my worst enemies. Do you know any of the Wolfbloods involved? I'll bet there was more than one. One Wolfblood couldn't have done this alone."

"I only know one name. A Wolfblood called Fayveer. He led the charge." Serena told him. "He's powerful. I was planning to ask around among the Wolfbloods of the town today and see if anyone's heard that name. Now I have everyone all in one place."

"Well, I was going to have today's meeting be about reaching out to the wild packs and healing the rift between them." Franklin said, looking over everyone. "But this seems like an excellent place to start on that front. If anyone thinks they may have ever heard the name Fayveer before, stand up." The room went silent as everyone looked to each other as if in an unspoken dare, wondering who would be the first to stand. Franklin cast an apologetic glance to Serena. "Sorry, cub. It looks like this one's a bust. But I have contacts in other villages I can write to if you want."

"Thank you." Serena nodded gratefully.

"In the meantime, let's get to work brainstorming ideas for visits to nearby wild packs and see what we can offer." The group dissolved into discussion. Serena offered what she could where possible, while also withdrawing into herself and letting her thoughts wash over her.

She arrived back at the house to see Willem bent over the oven. His back was visibly hurting after a day cutting firewood, and he was still making her food since she'd skipped breakfast. She sat down and placed the leaflet on the table.

"So, how did it go?" he asked without looking up. Serena had no idea what he was cooking, but it smelled amazing. The fact that it was meat could be safely assumed in any Wolfblood household, but this had a curious mix of herbs and spices coming from it too.

"Did you know that every Wolfblood in the town is essentially having a town meeting in the church every Friday?" Serena asked him, lazily scratching at the edge of the table. It was a nervous habit she was trying to stop, but her mind was on other things at the moment.

"I got an invitation a couple of weeks ago." Willem shrugged. "I didn't know you'd want to go and it certainly isn't the sort of thing that excites me, so I just discarded it."

"I just found out from a police officer when I noticed most of the street was closed." Serena told him. "I went and it was certainly enlightening."

"Really?" Willem took the pot off the hob and brought some bowls over, grabbing a ladle and dishing out stew with some large chunks of meat in it. "So, what did you find out?"

"Well, I found out that at the meetings, everyone uses their true name since it's a gathering of the community with no humans present. I found out that they're planning to try and form a connection with the wild packs and most importantly of all, I saw Fayveer."

"What?" Willem stopped what he was doing and just stared at her. "He just told you who he was even after you asked for information?"

"No." Serena's grin twisted knowingly. "He's the only one that _didn't_. Fayveer wasn't just _at_ the meeting. Fayveer _led_ the meeting."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"What do you mean I'm being ridiculous?" Serena protested. Willem's response hadn't been the one she'd been hoping for. "So much for support!"

"I never said _you_ were being ridiculous." Willem assured her, holding up a hand to calm her as she angrily grabbed a chunk of meat from the stew in her fist and took an aggressive bite. "I just think it's a bit ostentatious that he's been here the whole time leading a community group and would expose himself like this. If that's true, he'd have known who and where you were long ago and done something about it. I just want to make sure you're not blinded by hatred."

"I knew the one that gave me the leaflet." Serena reached into her pocket and took out the wolf fang she always kept there. "I have the fang he's missing. He was at Fayveer's side that night and he's never left it. The only reason I'm not dead is because Fayveer called him off like a hunting dog. I think he wants me to make a challenge. The only thing I can think of is that I impressed him when I knocked out that Wolfblood's fang despite the fact that I hadn't even had my first transformation then. He wanted to see what I'd become when I was stronger."

"I struggle to make sense of it all, Serena." Willem shrugged. "Your pack gets torn apart, he lets you live, he actively waits for you to get stronger... It just seems monumentally stupid. Surely the best thing for his own agenda would have been to end it four years ago and leave no witnesses. If what you say is correct, then it honestly troubles me why he would drag things out as he has. That attack has left the wild Wolfbloods hating us and now he wants to mend the fences after he was the one who tore them down in the first place? Or was he just putting on a show as soon as he saw you enter? It just makes no sense."

"It seems convoluted." Serena nodded as she adjusted her position in her seat. Her foot caught the leg of a neighbouring chair and she hissed through her teeth, trying to push through the pain.

"Shall I get you some cold water?" Willem looked at her with concern. Far from recovery, her injury had been playing her up more than usual lately and Willem was beginning to lose hope she would ever recover properly without the kind of help he just didn't have the spare money for. She nodded, feeling defeated, and let Willem grab a metal tub and run out to the water pump in the garden. While he was gone, she wrestled her boot off. Instantly, she let out a shriek of pain. The swelling erupted the instant her foot was exposed to the air.

"Willem!" He ran in and took in what he was seeing, his mouth hanging open in shock. Blood was welling up internally under her skin.

"We need to get you to a doctor, _now_!" He moved over and picked her up easily with a strength belying his frame and went to carry her bridal style.

"What will a doctor do but demand money?" Serena asked. "What will _you_ do when you can't pay them?"

"I'll think of something." Willem assured her as he wrenched the door open and slammed it shut behind him before moving her to his back and taking off at a run. They passed rapidly through the town, attracting stares from concerned humans and Wolfbloods alike. The police officer from before spotted them and blew his whistle angrily before attempting to give chase.

"Stop right there! I'm ninety-three percent sure that's illegal!" Had he carried on running, he'd have out-paced the policeman without any trouble even while carrying Serena. As it was, Willem slowed and turned to address the officer with a calmness that masked the rapid beating of his heart.

"There's no speed limit on the pavement, officer." His tone was dangerously flat. "She needs a doctor right now. Now, I need to get there fast, so if you have a better way..."

"Show me the injury." The officer's stare had become icy.

"Show him." Willem nodded. Serena lifted her left foot round with great difficulty. Blood was pouring freely now. It had now soaked into Willem's shirt and the officer saw how pale Serena was getting.

"Come with me." He set off at a brisk pace and Willem kept up effortlessly. He ushered the pair inside as they reached the doctor's surgery and rang the bell repeatedly. The doctor answered hurriedly and in an irritable mood. He'd just been taking a break after treating someone who was having difficulties breathing in the heat of summer and was now exhausted. He was ready to give whoever it was a hard time but his tone became much more understanding when he saw a police officer standing in his foyer.

"Get her in here, quickly!" They rushed Serena through and Willem set her on the table. She'd fallen unconscious by this point and was now white as a sheet. "Okay, everyone out! I need to work in private here!"

"If you dare to charge him up front, I'll have you nicked!" the officer warned him.

"No, no, no; I don't do that in severe emergencies!" The doctor waved him off. "In unforeseen circumstances, he can pay when he has it. Now get out!"

Willem and the officer left and sat down outside. It was over an hour and a half before the doctor emerged, his white apron now worryingly red. The doctor went over to his admissions desk, pulled out a small bottle and downed half the contents in one with a trembling hand before getting back up and heading in again. Another five minutes later, he emerged once again and drank the rest of the bottle before turning back to them.

"Well, she's going to be fine now." His words caused the two men to let out a sigh of relief. "It seems that when you first brought her to me four years ago, she'd managed to damage the tendon in her foot. When it healed badly, she just kept trying to walk it off. Over time, the damage got worse until it ruptured. You got incredibly lucky. With the amount of blood she lost I thought she might have nicked her tibial artery, but not so. She's heavily sedated, just as I'm about to be. If you want to go in and see her when she wakes up, I've left the door unlocked." With that, the doctor reached under his desk, pulled a second bottle out and began drinking again in an attempt to calm his trembling hands. In under five minutes, he was asleep and snoring contentedly. Willem couldn't wait. He got up and made his way through. He'd already said thank you to the officer who'd helped them, who was now departing without a word.

Serena was spread out over the table, her foot wrapped in bandages and the colour slowly returning to her face. Willem dragged a chair over and sat beside her, gripping her hand in his. She was cold as ice and didn't budge, but her chest was rising and falling. He just sat there waiting patiently until she finally woke up.

"How do you feel?" he asked as she sat up slowly, realising where she was.

"Like I was run over by a horse." Serena gripped the edge of the table with one hand, rubbing her head with the other. "And it was in a hurry."

"Just take it slow." He reached over and eased her back down. "The sedatives should wear off properly soon."

"How bad was it?" she asked, trying to look down and see the damage.

"Well, you'd best stay off it until moonrise." Willem shrugged. "The good news is that now that it's a much fresher injury, the full moon should speed up your recovery time a great deal."

"I suppose avenging my pack can wait." Serena sighed. "I can't do anything laid up."

"It's only until tomorrow!" Willem laughed. "Don't be dramatic."

"So where's the doctor?" Serena asked, looking around.

"He's asleep and drunk out of his mind." Willem told her. "I think he needed it after that. He also said there was nothing to worry about. Since it was an emergency, we can pay him back when we have it."

"It's a pity he's not a Wolfblood." Serena rolled her eyes. "We could have just bought a load of meat from the butcher and bartered with him."

"We could still do that." Willem nodded at the idea. "It would probably have to be with liquid courage though."

"With... What?" Serena rubbed her eyes furiously, the light stinging them. "I'm sedated up to the eyeballs, I do not have time to figure out human speech!"

"It means alcohol." Willem smiled gently at her in a way that soothed her. It was genuine. That was comforting. "I'll bring him some as an advance once I get you home. I have some potato wine that's been maturing for about a decade. If that doesn't get him mellow, nothing will."

"Do it." Serena nodded as she went to sit up again. "I want to go now, actually. I'm sick of this room."

"Has the room stopped swimming yet?" Willem asked, giving her a pointed look.

"Yes."

"Liar." Willem broke out into another grin. "I know it's no one's favourite place. But really, you shouldn't be sitting up until you feel more stable. If you try and move too soon, you could make yourself ill."

"What's the point of getting better if it'll only make you ill?" Serena asked. "You only live once. Not even the healers of my pack had drugs this potent!"

"Well if you just lie down and stay still, they'll be out of your system before you know it." Willem's look hardened slightly, indicating that the conversation was over. Serena rolled her eyes and grudgingly laid herself back down.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The moon shone bright over Stoneybridge, its light bathing the landscapes and highlighting the ugly scars left by mankind. A pair of wolves raced through the tunnels that connected to Willem's cellar at full speed, emerging in Aern Hollow. From there, as they always did, they ventured across the plains and played in the fields. Tonight though, something was different. Serena had always had to take full moons slow despite the energy tearing through her body. This time, she was able to run. She ran as though time itself were irrelevant. When she howled, it was a musical sound of pure joy as opposed to pained burden. And when she lifted her voice to the heavens, the Wolfbloods in Stoneybridge heard it and joined their voices with hers in a celestial chorus.

As dawn started to break, the two wolves ventured back towards Stoneybridge. They were still unable to change back yet, but almost everyone in town knew what they were. They had no worries, and so decided to take a short cut across a field. The house was just about in sight when the sunrise hit them. They began to change back as the gunshot rang out. Willem's dead weight hit the floor without so much as a twitch. He'd been halfway through transformation and so his once handsome features were now warped and disfigured. The musket ball had embedded in the back of his skull, the hole in his head pouring blood. There was no hope.

"You were right, Abe!" a woman's voice crowed. "It _was_ a fox that was taking our chickens! Let's get over and see!" Serena's head snapped up in the direction of the voices. She could see two figures running over to where Willem had fallen. In a murderous rage, she charged at them. Her eyes burned yellow as her fangs bared in a snarl. She hit wolf form again just as she came into view of the couple. Muskets were notoriously slow to load, even slower than a wheel-lock pistol. As long as neither of them had a second gun, she didn't have to worry about a second shot.

"That's not a fox!" the man screamed. He raised the butt of his gun to bat her away, only for her to slip under his swing and clamp her jaws around his left wrist. He screamed in agony as her bite tightened, her fangs tearing through ligaments, tendons and muscles. He dropped to his knees with blood pouring from his wrist as Serena returned to human form. Mercilessly, she began punching the man, each blow splitting skin and drawing blood before she brought her kneecap up to connect with his jaw, tears rolling down her face. The woman had desperately tried to place herself between the two as Serena locked her hands around his throat and squeezed hard. His face began to drain of colour as his lungs desperately tried to draw in breath.

"Please, stop!" the woman begged. "I'm sorry! We didn't know!" Serena let him go, her hands shaking uncontrollably. Without a word, she stood up straight and walked back over to Willem's crumpled form, sinking to her knees in front of it and drawing the body close to herself. It had happened _again_! Even in a place where humans and Wolfbloods lived side-by-side, everything had been taken from her again. She didn't even look up as the couple joined her, standing behind her nervously feeling unsure of what to say.

"What was his name?" the man asked, hoping to get any sort of lucidity out of her. Serena instinctively went to say Willem, but stopped when she remembered that humans weren't supposed to know the true names of Wolfbloods.

"His name was William Smith. He took me in after my pack was slaughtered, and now you've taken him from me too."

"I'm so sorry." The man took off his hat and rubbed the top of his balding head.

"This isn't working." Serena muttered. "This is further proof that Wolfbloods and humans can't live side-by-side. This must be the last generation to know about us. And we can't bury his body publicly in this state."

"We can hold a private burial." It was a kind offer that Serena considered. "I have a section of field that I don't use. I can see to it that it's never touched at least for as long as I'm alive. He'll rest in peace, you have my word."

"The existence of Wolfbloods must fade from the knowledge of humans." Serena nodded. "I will form a new pack both of Wolfbloods and humans who know about us, and we will work to ensure that our kind becomes the stuff of legend and myth."

"We'll help too." The woman walked over to stand with her husband. "That is, if you're willing to work with us after what we've done. It's the least we can do." Serena stood up to face them, glaring at them with burning yellow eyes.

"Let us help you, please!" the man begged. "The guilt will destroy us otherwise."

"What are your names?" she asked, her tone vicious and demanding. The man was first to speak.

"I'm Abraham Hunter. This is my wife Jeanette."

"I accept your help, then." Serena looked to both of them in turn. "It's on you to cover up what happened here and you're free to do that in any way you choose. Once that's done, we'll talk about the burial. But if you break your word and someone finds out about this, I _will_ take reparations in blood."

"I can't hold that against you." The man nodded solemnly, regretting it as his neck gave a sharp click. "I think I need a doctor."

"Well, I wouldn't recommend the one in town." Serena's tone didn't budge. Her emotions were unreadable. "Thanks to William, he's probably still passed out from drink. I need to go and get his affairs in order. If you keep your word to me, we'll meet up and plan our next move."

"We'll be waiting." Jeanette nodded. Serena took off at a run. In spite of everything, she couldn't help but feel a thrill at the way she was finally able to move again after four years. She wished with everything she had that it had turned out differently. She could have killed Abraham back there, and to all intents and purposes she should have. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. He genuinely hadn't known. This wasn't like Fayveer killing her pack, this had been unintentional. It was a pure and simple accident. And it galled her to the core.

She arrived at the house feeling ready to collapse into a sobbing heap. He'd had so many plans for her and she'd had plans of her own. Plans that heavily involved and relied on him. Now, she would have to find other ways to carry them out. But what she'd said had to stand. The existence of Wolfbloods now had to become a secret. The big question was how to do that. And in the middle of all this, she also had the burden of revenge to carry out. That meant killing Fayveer. Again, she mentally slapped herself. She was sixteen years of age and already she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

As she went to open the back door, she noticed that it wasn't shut. It hung slightly open, the lock visibly buckled inwards. As she took this in, a hooded figure tore the door open and grabbed her, pulling her inside and throwing her into the cabinet in one fluid motion. He then launched her across the room, grinning a predatory grin that showed off his missing canine tooth. She hit the kitchen table hard, rolling over it to land on her feet on the other side.

"Are you here looking for something?" she asked, reaching into her pocket and holding up the tooth she'd knocked out of his wolf form four years ago. Corran's blazing golden glare intensified as his eyes narrowed. "Well, why don't you come and get it?" Without hesitation, he charged at her. A primal roar of fury escaped him. Serena was faster though, and dodged to the side before grabbing a knife from the knife block and swinging it hard. He staggered sideways, noticing the blade coming and back-pedalling to avoid it. He landed on the table heavily enough to create a colossal crash as the wooden legs splintered under his weight. Serena was on him in an instant, punching, kicking and slashing with the knife. He swatted her away like it were nothing with enough force to send her flying. Just like her, he was amped up on the residual power of the full moon.

"Surrender, and I might make it quick." Corran offered as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Those are brave words from a wolf about to howl his last!" Serena spun the knife in her hand menacingly. "The one who took me in was just taken from me, Corran. I have nothing left to lose and I'm in the mood to crack a few skulls before my time comes!"

"You'll see him again soon, one way or another." Corran growled, advancing forward. Serena swung for him again, but he grabbed the blade in a meaty fist and twisted so hard that it snapped cleanly without even nicking him. Serena thrust her other hand up on impulse, only for something extraordinary to happen. A bright green light erupted from her palm. Corran screamed in agony as his body was instantly engulfed. In less than a second, he was gone. A piece of crystal sat on the floor were he once stood. She picked it up and stared into it, seeing the warped figure of Corran trapped inside. His mouth was open in a scream, but any sound was contained in his new prison. Serena struggled for an explanation, but only one came.

"Sorcery." She muttered under her breath. "Willem was right."

Looking around at the carnage of the room, she was hit by another wave of grief. It wasn't the end of the earth. Each thing could be replaced. But each object in the house also symbolised everything Willem had stood for and worked so hard to build. Everything that got broken was a piece of him lost. That was something Serena couldn't stand for. It was bad enough that her own home had been invaded and destroyed four years ago, but now Willem's home too had been invaded literal minutes after his own death!

With nothing better to do, Serena moved over to the table to inspect the damage. It was a lost cause. Both the legs on one side were broken beyond repair. The table had been built to extend and half of it had slid out, the mechanism breaking under Corran's weight. Serena turfed it aside, noticing something sticking out from the central alcove. A piece of paper had been folded up inside there. As she took it and unfolded it, she realised what it was.

'_Serena, _

_if you are reading this then it means I failed to say goodbye as I wanted. But as I'm currently so ill, the time never seems appropriate. In the event of my untimely death, I leave this land and all its resources to you. There is no one I trust more to bare the responsibility. Grata and the other Wolfbloods of the village will be by your side. If you wish to carry out your burden of revenge, I won't stop you. If you're reading this, I can't anyway. But you mustn't strike out of anger. If you do, it won't even be a contest. Trust in nature. You and it share such a unique bond. I have faith that even in the darkest of times, it will see you through. I ask that you lay me to rest somewhere private, away from all the hassles of life. There is nowhere else on Earth I would rather be. It's why my house was so far away in the first place. That, and the fact it's been in my family for generations. I was worried I would be the last of my line, but I had no reason to worry. There was another. Even only two years after you staggered into my garden bleeding and traumatised as you were, you are and always will be the daughter I never had. _

_Yours eternally,_

_Willem_.'

Serena couldn't help it. She burst into tears and was paralysed, unable to move. The letter was two years old, written at a time when Willem had fallen so ill that the doctors were uncertain if he'd make it. Serena had done all she could for him and pulled him through it using herbal concoctions she'd learned in the wild, but even he'd been prepared to admit the hour had arrived. In that time, he'd known what he wanted to do and left a record for her to find one day should she still be there at the time. Her conversation with him the previous night hadn't been simple coincidence, it had been something he'd been planning for a long time. Gathering her focus and deciding that rage would work better than grief, Serena made a promise she'd never been more serious about.

"I will make you proud, Willem."

**Author's Note: Okay, so I know I promised to start updating this again earlier this month. Unfortunately, I've been snowed under with depression among other things. Life has not been easy lately. On another note, I promised a shout-out to anyone who guessed Serena's true name correctly and that I'd double-update if they managed it. That reveal is coming next chapter so you have until then to make a guess. In the meantime, I've been writing various other Wolfblood stories so those will be coming at various points over the next few months. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Serena shut the front door behind her and headed towards the town, forcing down her adrenaline rush as she pondered what she was about to do. No one in the Wolfblood community knew she'd had her injury repaired and she needed to keep it that way. Fayveer would have expected Corran to report back by now, so it would be a miracle if he didn't already suspect something.

She'd spent some time looking through the book Willem had given her to understand what had happened in the fight against Corran. The power she discovered was called Phasing. It was a power only seen in Wolfblood legend. No one dared believe it were true. The tales were that anyone trapped inside the resulting crystal was trapped to eternally experience their past sins repeatedly until driven mad. Others believed that due to the victim being conscious the whole time, their agony was more due to their body being sealed into the tiny piece of crystal, essentially shacked so tightly that they must feel like their body was being crushed rapidly and endlessly. For now, Serena had placed the crystal on the mantle piece. She'd decide what to do with Corran later. Serena knew that all she had to do to free him was break the crystal, which was apparently quite fragile. The power itself was only able to be used both on the days on and after a full moon, though. That meant it was only available for two days of every month. She couldn't wait another month. If this was going to end, it had to be today.

Serena walked through the town, trying to keep a level pace. All the Wolfblood-owned shops were shut again, so she followed her nose. She easily picked up their scents and walked towards the village hall. As she got near, the voices were easy to pick out.

"_She can't live this time_!" someone called out.

"_She shouldn't have lived the _first _time_!" Halaan's voice cut through the chorus of agreements and prompted a new one.

"_We attacked her pack and now we're sitting here debating how to kill her_! _Let's just tie her up, drag her out to the Moor and do the deed_! _They'll never find her in our lifetime_!" Serena froze at the sound of Jar'Kai speaking up. It wasn't just Fayveer. It was all of them! The forces that had accompanied Fayveer weren't just random Wolfbloods. It had been almost every Wolfblood in Stoneybridge! Serena didn't even pause for thought. She threw the doors open and stormed in, her eyes blazing yellow. Over a hundred pairs of yellow eyes turned to face her just as before, with Franklin leading the group.

"Fayveer!" she roared, black veins racing through her arms. He let out a growl as he realised he couldn't change her mind. She knew. "I challenge you one Wolfblood to another! _Only_ the strongest shall claim Stoneybridge!" The Wolfbloods all got to their feet, moving back to allow them to fight. They couldn't do anything to help in the event of such a challenge.

"Well, I wondered why Corran hadn't made it back yet." Fayveer shrugged. "If it's anything to you, I didn't send him. He went of his own accord. I would have punished him severely for acting out of turn."

"A pity you didn't have the same concern for my pack's welfare when you butchered them." Serena growled, her muscles tensing in her arms.

"I'm not in the business of randomly murdering wild Wolfbloods." Fayveer lectured her. "Did you know your pack once abducted a young Wolfblood girl from the human world? They took her to raise as their own and brought her up among them. Do you see where this is going?"

"So you're saying you killed my alpha because someone in his pack stole a child." Serena grimaced. "You had _so_ many other options! You could have gone to the pack and talked it through with them. It could have just been a simple accident and they would have handed it back without a fuss, or they could have done it behind the alpha's back in which case he would have _made_ them give the child back. You could have gone to other wild packs to make them aware of what had been done. They're not reasonable people towards tames, but even they find such a thing barbaric. Not to mention the fact that anything from the human world being brought to the wild pack is grounds for execution. They would have helped. Hell, you could even have just been honest with me the first time we met instead of plotting to kill me! There's a slim chance we might have avoided all of this!"

"The wild packs are all as savage as one another!" Fayveer spat. "They deserve the same fate that the one you lived with got. And I don't want you dead, either. I couldn't let Corran kill you back then and I'm reluctant to do it myself now. But I will if you initiate this challenge. I'll have no choice."

"Then I welcome the outcome whichever way it goes." Serena replied.

"Then the time has come to claim your revenge, Serena!" Fayveer spread his arms wide. "I, Fayveer of Stoneybridge accept your challenge! You need only speak your true name!" Serena's heart missed a beat. This was the name she'd thrown aside upon the slaughter of her pack. Now was the time to reclaim it and fulfil the burden of revenge.

"Your time as alpha is over, Fayveer. And I, _Segolia_, will be your successor." With a roar of fury, Fayveer launched himself forward. He leaped into the air and twisted before falling downwards and attempting to grab Segolia. She dodged forwards into a roll and spun to face his next attack. He came at her again, launching a kick straight at her face. She blocked easily and swung a punch at his head, only to overextend as he moved his head out of the way with a smirk on his face. He brought his hand up, gripping Segolia's wrist and trapping it in an iron grip before thrusting out with his other hand. The same invisible force that had bested Co'ten all those years ago blasted her backwards, her arm staying where it was. There was a horrific pop as her shoulder dislocated and she crumpled with a scream of agony. Fayveer let her go as everyone began chanting at her to submit.

"If you surrender now, I might have the option to spare you." Fayveer offered. "All you have to do is submit."

"You forget..." Segolia hissed through the pain as she righted herself. "I saw that little party trick the first time. In fact, I was waiting for you to do that. You've proven my theory that you've become reliant on that ability."

"You stupid girl, this ability is all I _need_!" Fayveer clenched his fist and Segolia hit the floor, her legs instantly losing feeling. "I can manipulate any natural and organic materials. The wooden shaft of a spear is one thing, but what about bones? What about blood?" Fayveer snapped his fingers and Serena's heart paused for several seconds. She turned pale as her limbs instantly grew heavy. Suddenly, it resumed again and she felt the blood rush back through her arms. "As long as I have that much influence over you, I could tell your brain to tell your heart to stop beating. It wouldn't happen completely right away, mind you. The heart is a stubborn muscle. But it's not _too_ stubborn."

"You already said you don't want me dead, Fayveer." Segolia knew she was in trouble, but she'd already accepted that one of them was probably going to leave the fight horizontal.

"Maybe not, but as far as I'm concerned there's nothing you can do against me." Fayveer shrugged. "Defeating you should be as simple as..." Fayveer clenched his fist again. Segolia screamed as her legs were twisted at the knees with an audible snap. With only one arm left working, she used her last resort. She thrust her left arm out as a blinding green light fired from her palm, enveloping Fayveer. In an instant, only a tiny piece of crystal remained where he once stood. Quickly, she started transforming. Unless it was on a full moon, the Wolfblood transformation itself had no healing properties. But one of the things it _could_ do automatically was relocate any limbs that were out of place. Pain ignited throughout every nerve in her body as three of her limbs were clicked back into place midway through the change. As she hit full wolf form, one of the Wolfbloods ventured over and picked the crystal up, staring into it and no doubt seeing Fayveer trapped inside.

"He's still alive!" the Wolfblood declared as Segolia changed back. "You can't claim his mantle unless he either submits or dies."

"Yes, he _is_ still alive." Segolia replied, storming over. "And that means you shouldn't have touched that crystal. Give it to me!" Obediently, he handed it over; recognising that he was in the wrong to have picked it up. Interference in a challenge was punishable by death, and so he was grateful that she hadn't chosen to pursue the issue. With her newly restored strength, Segolia threw the crystal at the back wall. It shattered, leaving Fayveer gasping on the floor with tears streaming down his face. Segolia advanced, her eyes still blazing in a symphony of topaz. Frantically, he tried to use his power on her. Nothing happened. His mind was reeling from what he'd been through, making focusing impossible. In desperation, he reached up and tore a candlestick off the wall, flicking the candle off to reveal the spike in the centre of the dish. It was an improvised yet formidable weapon, and she didn't want to get on the wrong end of it.

"You just don't get it, do you?" he screamed. "They took _my_ child! They raised her wild and gave her the illusion her parents were wild too, and yet _still_ you defend their legacy!"

"The wild was my home!" Segolia defended. "You killed my pack!"

"No, _Stoneybridge_ is your home!" Fayveer stormed forwards, swinging the candlestick menacingly. Segolia danced out of the way, trying to attack from the side. Fayveer swung around and struck her in the leg, the point of the candlestick sinking right into her upper thigh. She crumpled again and he was on her in an instant. "Even if the wild pack comes close to wiping this community out, still we'll rise again. And do you know why?" Fayveer asked as he dropped his weapon and closed his hands around Segolia's throat. "It's because we don't require your beliefs or an overall connection to the natural world. All we need is that the world be the way it is. And that's why no matter what happens today, you'll never destroy what I've built." As he spoke, Segolia reached out. Her fingers closed around warm metal made slippery with the sweat of desperation. She picked it up and drove it home, striking the side of Fayveer's neck. He staggered back, blood pouring between his fingers as he sank to his knees. Segolia coughed heavily, drawing air into her lungs as she stood to her full height.

"I don't plan to destroy your community." She glared down at him with unbridled fury in her eyes. "I plan to re-shape it." Fayveer looked up at her as his wolf powered down. It was the first time she'd seen him without his wolf activated and it struck her right to the core as he stared up at her, his emerald green eyes matching her own. The blood between his fingers had run down his clothes and was now soaking into the carpet as all the pieces finally clicked into place in Segolia's head. Why Fayveer had let her live on that night, why he'd been so reluctant to kill her now, why he'd given her so many chances to back down from her own challenge...

"Don't think I have any intention of running a hand down the side of your cheek and admitting all my past failures." His voice was little more than a hoarse whisper. "I won't cry for a world where I'm left wondering what might have been. I'm sure you understand. Still, I must admit that I'm proud of you, actually. You've shown great strength, courage, ingenuity... They're all decent qualities. But tell me, do you really think your ways are better than mine?"

"You would see all wild Wolfbloods executed for the crimes of one pack." Segolia growled. "You would punish the innocent for something they know nothing of and lie to kin you pretend are strangers to try and make them fulfil your ideals. So yes, with everything I've seen of you in the few times we met, I _do_ believe it."

"You wear your convictions well, my child." Fayveer smiled up at her, closing his eyes as he sagged sideways and landed heavily on the floor. "They suit you." With that, his hand slipped from the wound on his neck as his whole body relaxed.

"Goodbye, father." Segolia checked Fayveer's eyes were properly closed and turned to face the other Wolfbloods who stared in stunned silence at the sight before them. Segolia glared across all of them, her eyes once again an inferno of golden fire. "Like I said: _only_ the strongest shall claim Stoneybridge. I now claim this territory and my place as the head of the Wolfblood community here! Any who challenge, step forward!" There was a pause as they all glared at her with undisguised fury. Finally, one of them stepped to the front.

"I cha-" He didn't even finish the sentence before Segolia unleashed the same light from her palm as she did before. In an instant he was gone, replaced by a small piece of crystal that lay in the centre of the carpet.

"Stoneybridge is mine!" Segolia proclaimed. Everyone shrank back with no little amount of fear. "Recent events have showed me that humans and Wolfbloods cannot live safely side-by-side for as long as the humans know about us. For conspiring against me, I hereby sentence everyone in this room to exile. The population of Wolfbloods here is too great. Each Wolfblood must find and claim their own piece of territory, working independently to keep it secure. You must let the humans forget about us, our existence fading into myth and legend across the generations. We will be forgotten and it will work to our favour. Passing through another's territory is unavoidable and therefore acceptable, but to invade another's territory to live there and claim it will be punished swiftly and severely. Such fighting causes attention. We will not use Wolfblood names, casting them aside in favour of human ones to aid our integration into their society. Any Wolfblood seen in defiance of these rules will be discreetly disposed of."

"And how will you know if we keep your rules?" one woman in the crowd demanded.

"My network of informants will keep me abreast of everything going on." She stared the woman down, daring her to say something else. "My true name was Segolia. Now and forever, I will be known as Serena. But Segolia isn't dead. That name will be given to what I will build between Wolfbloods and humans today so that they may continue to keep both our species safe tomorrow. You all have a week to leave. Pass through this territory at any time just as any human can, but if I see you living here, you will meet the same fate as this one here." With that, she picked up the crystal and flung it at the wall. The Wolfblood she'd imprisoned was left shivering on the floor, a traumatised look etched into his features. "Get out!" As soon as she gave the order, everyone filed out, leaving Serena alone. No sooner had the door shut than she burst into tears, slamming her fist into a wooden post hard enough to break a piece off it. Her barely contained sobs echoed throughout the quiet space.

**Author's Note: Okay, so once again as has been the theme lately, I'm so sorry this took so long. I've had some family stuff going on and it's been hard to find time to even sit down to upload a chapter. I have finished the story though and I'm nearly done with the sequel. Once I've finished uploading the last two chapters of this and writing the sequel I'll start posting chapters from it. In the meantime, I have a bit of a surprise in the interim. Please feel free to leave a review. Any and all feedback is helpful.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Serena woke the next morning, instantly pulling the covers further over her in the vain hope that if she didn't find the light, it wouldn't find her. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. She grudgingly got out of bed and tried to tame her hair, dressing in her finest and reluctantly heading down to the Hunters' farm.

True to their word and despite his injuries, Abraham had managed to dig a six-foot trench in the field. It wasn't too deep at only about four and a half feet, but clearly he'd put his back out doing even that. It was an appreciated gesture.

"Ah, you're here!" he looked up from where Jeanette rubbed his back and tried to help him click his spine back into place. Serena noticed the case by the chair he'd dragged out into the garden. He caught her looking and picked it up and opened it to show her. "This is what we're doing to cover this up. We've melted some spare silver down and we're making it into musket balls. We've only made one so far and we've swapped it out with the one that hit William. If anyone finds him, they'll think whoever shot him was just a crazy werewolf hunter. I've started writing a fake journal to lead people to a false location. They'll think I was just chasing ghosts. Actually, Abraham Runcorn Hunter is a pretty good name for a werewolf hunter."

"What about the skeleton that will be left?" Serena asked. "Him being halfway through transformation is the exact reason we're having to do this in the first place."

"Well, the chances of machines being built that will be able to tell someone exactly what he was are just..." Jeanette struggled for the word she was looking for. "Look, it'll never happen. It's borderline the work of sorcery. I can't see us going much further than we are in this modern age."

"Well, I suppose it's definitely not a worry we'll have in my lifetime." Serena shrugged. "What happens after that is up to the people of the future."

"Did you get his affairs in order?" Abraham asked. "If you need help, I have a friend who can give legal council."

"He left a letter leaving everything to me." Serena told him. "The house is now mine. I will see to it that what he he's built stays standing for many generations to come." Abraham nodded solemnly. The body was already in the hole, so they started filling it back in. Abraham and Jeanette had wrapped him in a cloth that was decorated with a beautiful pattern out of respect. It was made of a material that would decay underground over time, leaving no evidence of outside involvement should the body ever be discovered. The thought of what they were doing made Serena sick to her stomach, but she also knew there was no other option. If this were ever discovered, the concealment that she would work so hard to build would unravel in an instant. The discovery of such a deformed body would raise some rather difficult questions. But if the body never existed, there would be no questions to answer. It also fulfilled William's wish to be laid to rest privately.

As soon as William had been buried, Abraham and Jeanette headed back to the house. Serena wanted to take a few minutes alone, which they'd totally understood. They'd extended an invitation to join them for lemonade. As much as Serena wanted to do anything but, the idea of having a cool drink was too appealing. Once they were gone, she knelt by the grave site and closed her eyes. She pressed her hands into the ground, feeling the disturbed soil under her fingers as the breeze over her made the hairs on her neck stand erect. With everything she had, she sent a broadcast up to any and all who were listening.

"Friogearde, presence of the moon, guide this departed one to your waiting arms and howl his name so that we might hear it here in the mortal realm. A great Wolfblood has fallen: a carer, a guardian, a friend, a father." Serena ended her Eolas and stood up, dusting herself off and heading towards the house. She'd done all she could.

It was late in the day when she arrived home. She, Abraham and Jeanette had been busily planning their next move on how to recruit more support. Abraham and Jeanette would be in charge of recruiting and Abraham's friend in the legal business would be offered the task of handling any such concerns they dealt with. With those basic principals sorted, she could start building her network of informants and a team to work as enforcement to uphold the territory laws she'd implemented. It was going to be rough starting, but she knew she had the potential to build something to keep Wolfbloods safe the world over.

Sitting down heavily in her usual seat in the living room, she looked around and noticed the piece of crystal sitting on the mantle piece. She picked it up and stared into it, seeing Corran's screaming form still hunched inside. She desperately wanted to get rid of it and forget about it, leaving him to his deserved fate and letting chance decide the terms of his sentence and release. But she just didn't have it in her. Taking the crystal outside, she threw it at the wall of the house where it exploded. Corran was left a crumpled and pathetic form whimpering on the floor in front of her. She stepped over to him, towering over him as he cowered away.

"Fayveer is dead." Her words shocked him so much that he stopped shaking and stared straight into her eyes. "All Wolfbloods are to leave Stoneybridge within a week to find a piece of territory of their own. I have claimed Stoneybridge for myself. You can either go with them or I can phase you all over again and toss you in a river. What's it to be?" Corran wasn't going to wait around an entire week. He leaped up and ran faster than Serena had ever seen a Wolfblood move in human form, easily scaling the back fence and sprinting for his life. Serena didn't know what happened in that crystal, but it was clearly something that not even her arch enemy deserved. From that day, she made a promise to herself never to use that power again. She'd read in the book that when a Wolfblood didn't need the power anymore, it would vanish. She vowed to cease all use of the power so as to let it fade. It was better that way. Either way, she felt it safe to consider the matter closed.

Heading back inside, she sat down in her chair again and tried to relax. She noticed a book left on the table by Willem and so picked it up, beginning to read.

'_I applied my heart to know wisdom, to know madness and folly. I perceive that this also was a chasing of the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief. And he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow_.'- Rashid ad-Din Sinan: 1191. Serena sat there pondering the quote in the prologue. It had been true. Every time she learned more about the world around her, death pain and misery hadn't been far behind. That was going to change. She now looked at the world in a different light. She knew what it would take to make it right, and anyone who tried to stand in the way of the building of the secret would fall to the fangs of the forgotten.


	9. Epilogue

Epilogue

Four Days Later...

Serena wandered the house, her mind unsettled. She couldn't work out why. The burden of revenge was fulfilled. Willem had been put to rest and she now had found her purpose in life. Yet something was still clawing at her. She didn't know what it was until she ventured into Willem's room. There she saw the gold buttons sitting on his bedside table. He'd never had a chance to take them back to Grata.

Knowing she couldn't leave it, she scooped them up. The run to Grata's house was easy for a Wolfblood, barely lasting all of two minutes. Once she slowed down and took the house in, she realised something was wrong. She'd been there countless times since Willem had taken her in, and in all that time she'd never seen the living room window shut. Grata _always_ opened it as soon as she woke up and spent the day sat in her rocking chair listening to the birdsong.

Serena knocked on the door, already anticipating silence in response. Sure enough, no one answered. Rolling her eyes, Serena reached down and pulled up the Welcome mat. She grabbed the house key there and turned it in the lock. As soon as she was in, she saw what had happened. Grata sat in her chair, which stayed motionless for the first time since Serena had known her. Her eyes were closed, a gentle smile on her face as though she were asleep. Serena knew otherwise, though. It didn't take a genius to see what had happened. Grata had awoken and ventured downstairs. There, she'd sat in her chair and watched the sunrise. She hadn't bothered to open the window, knowing she wouldn't need to. She'd known it was time. She'd been chasing the century and that was unheard of for a Wolfblood. Tearfully, Serena closed her fist around the metal of the buttons. They were hers now, and she would always keep them with her. She'd never let them go, just like she would always hold onto the memories of Willem, Grata and even those of her pack who fell four years ago. For in those memories, they would all live on.

**Author's Note: Okay, so I'm sorry this update came so much later than I wanted it to. I was planning to update a while ago and got sidetracked due to life complications. Yeah, that's been happening a lot over the last couple of years. If I'm being honest, it's not looking to let up for a while yet. But it is what it is and I've just got to work around it. This is the final chapter and epilogue of Fangs of the Forgotten. As I mentioned before, I have the sequel coming soon. It's called Howls of the Damned and I've nearly finished it. In the meantime, I've got a comedy oneshot in the interim to tide things over. Please feel free to leave a review. Any feedback is welcome, especially since this type of story isn't one I've attempted before this so I'm curious to know how you liked it.**


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